Techniques for optimizing a shopping agenda

ABSTRACT

Techniques for optimizing a shopping agenda are disclosed. The techniques include receiving an electronic shopping list containing one or more items, each item indicating a product sold by a retailer. The techniques also include determining, at the processing device, a store location of the retailer, the store location indicating a store where the one or more products indicated by the one or more items are to be purchased. The techniques further include determining one or more product waypoints based on the one or more items in the electronic shopping list and the store map, each product waypoint of the one or more product waypoints respectively corresponding to one of the one or more items and being indicative of a product location of the product indicated by the item in the store. The techniques further include providing the one or more product waypoints for display.

RELATED U.S. APPLICATION

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/650,652,filed Oct. 12, 2012 and U.S. application Ser. No. 13/650,723, filed Oct12, 2012. The application is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. Field of the Disclosure

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods foroptimizing shopping techniques. In particular, assisting a user with anelectronic shopping list on a mobile computing device optimize theirshopping experience by determining product waypoints corresponding tothe items contained in the electronic shopping list.

2. Background

Many consumers visit supermarkets and superstores when shopping forproducts such as groceries, office supplies, and household wares.Typically, these stores can have dozens of aisles and/or sections.Accordingly, traversing these aisles looking for specific products maybe a harrowing experience. Situations may arise where a consumer takes abrute force approach to shopping for products, where the consumercrosses the store multiple times to find all the intended products.Consumers may use a digital shopping list in order to better organizeand remember their items when preparing to go shopping. The shoppinglist alone, however, may not be the complete solution to the problem ofrepeatedly crossing aisles during shopping or visiting the same regionsof the stores multiple times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating a mobile computing device incommunication with a shopping list server according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating example components of the mobilecomputing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating an electronic shopping list havingproduct waypoints displayed therein being displayed by the mobilecomputing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a drawing of a map having a plurality of waypoints displayedtherein according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a drawing of a map having an optimized route displayed thereinaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an ordered electronic shopping listordered according to groupings and sections, the ordered electronicshopping list being displayed by the mobile computing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating example components of the shopping listserver of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for determining aplurality of waypoints based on items contained in an electronicshopping list according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for determining aroute based on items contained in an electronic shopping list accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for grouping andordering items in an electronic shopping list according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding componentsthroughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans willappreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicityand clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example,the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements to help to improve understanding of variousembodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understoodelements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasibleembodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one having ordinary skill in the art thatthe specific detail need not be employed to practice the presentinvention. In other instances, well-known materials or methods have notbeen described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the presentinvention.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “anembodiment”, “one example” or “an example” means that a particularfeature, structure or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”,“in an embodiment”, “one example” or “an example” in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features,structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitablecombinations and/or sub-combinations in one or more embodiments orexamples. In addition, it is appreciated that the figures providedherewith are for explanation purposes to persons ordinarily skilled inthe art and that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention may be embodied asan apparatus, method, or computer program product. Accordingly, thepresent invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment,an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “module” or“system.” Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expressionhaving computer-usable program code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer-usable or computer-readablemedia may be utilized. For example, a computer-readable medium mayinclude one or more of a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM) device, a read-only memory (ROM) device, anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) device, aportable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), an optical storagedevice, and a magnetic storage device. Computer program code forcarrying out operations of the present invention may be written in anycombination of one or more programming languages.

Embodiments may also be implemented in cloud computing environments. Inthis description and the following claims, “cloud computing” may bedefined as a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demandnetwork access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources(e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned via virtualization and released with minimalmanagement effort or service provider interaction, and then scaledaccordingly. A cloud model can be composed of various characteristics(e.g., on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling,rapid elasticity, measured service, etc.), service models (e.g.,Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”),Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”), and deployment models (e.g.,private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, etc.).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the flow diagrams illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions. These computerprogram instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable mediumthat can direct a computer or other programmable data processingapparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructionsstored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufactureincluding instruction means which implement the function/act specifiedin the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Many consumers utilize their mobile computing devices to prepareelectronic shopping lists when preparing to shop for products. As usedherein, the term “product” can refer to groceries, foods, officesupplies, clothing wares, or any other fungible goods sold by aretailer. As used herein, the term “electronic shopping list” can referto any electronic representation of a shopping list that contains one ormore items. As used herein, the term “item” can refer to any type ofindicator of a product sold by a retailer. An item can refer to ageneric product or a specific product. A generic product is a genus ofproduct, e.g., eggs, milk, and bread. A specific product is a brand ofproduct, e.g., PEPSI®, TUMS®, POP TARTS®. Furthermore, a specificproduct can also include a unitary amount, e.g., a 12 pk of PEPSI®. Asused herein, the term “mobile computing device” can refer to any type ofmobile computing devices, such as mobile telephones, laptop computers,and tablet computers, or stationary computing devices.

Techniques are disclosed herein for optimizing a mobile computing deviceuser's shopping experience based on the electronic shopping list. Inparticular, the techniques include determining a product waypoint foreach product indicated in the electronic shopping list and displayingthe product waypoints to the user using, for example, the mobilecomputing device. As used herein the term “waypoint” can refer generallyto a location in a store, e.g., a location of a product or an entrance.A waypoint can be represented in GPS coordinates, Cartesian coordinates,e.g., an (x, y) point if the store is divided into a Cartesian plane,and/or can be represented using reference points, e.g., “aisle 4, 50feet from the front of the store.”

Furthermore, techniques are disclosed for determining a route for theuser to take when shopping for the items in the electronic shoppinglist. The techniques include determining product waypoints correspondingto each product indicated in the electronic shopping list anddetermining an optimized route based on the waypoints. The route can beoptimized to minimize or substantially minimize the amount of distancetraveled or the amount of time to travel through the store. It should beappreciated that the route can be optimized for other criteria as well.

Additionally, techniques for grouping the items in electronic shoppinglist are also disclosed. The items can be grouped based on the type ofproducts and/or a section of the store where the products are located.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a mobile computing device 10 in communicationwith a shopping list server 30 via a network 20 is depicted. In someembodiments, the mobile computing device 10 is configured to allow auser to generate an electronic shopping list. As shown in theillustrative example, the mobile computing device 10 is displaying agraphical user interface (GUI) 12 that is displaying an electronicshopping list comprised of a plurality of items, e.g., item 14A, item14B, and item 14C. The GUI 12 allows the user to add items to theelectronic shopping list. It should be appreciated that the mobilecomputing device 10 may obtain the electronic shopping list in any othersuitable manner. For instance, a photograph of a handwritten shoppinglist can be captured using a digital camera and converted to anelectronic shopping list. In another example, the electronic shoppinglist can be uploaded from another source or can be learned from theuser's purchasing habits.

The GUI 12 further includes a plurality of input objects which allow theuser to provide commands to the mobile computing device 10. The inputobjects include a “locate” input object 16A, a “list” input object 16B,and a “route” input object 16C.

The locate input object 16A, when selected by a user, initiates aninstruction to the mobile computing device 10 to obtain productwaypoints corresponding to each of the items in the electronic shoppinglist. In response to receiving user input via the locate input object16A, the mobile computing device 10 may determine a store at which theuser intends to purchase the items and can send an indicator of thestore and the electronic shopping list to the shopping list server 30.In some embodiments, the shopping list server 30 returns a productwaypoint corresponding to each item in the electronic shopping list,each product waypoint indicating a location of a product in thedetermined store. The mobile computing device 30 can display the productwaypoints to the user via the GUI 12. In some embodiments, the productwaypoints can be displayed in the electronic shopping list and/or in amap of the store at which the user intends to purchase the items.

The list input object 16B, when pressed by the user, initiates aninstruction to the mobile computing device 10 to obtain a rearrangedelectronic shopping list. The electronic shopping list may be rearrangedbased on the types of products indicated in the electronic shoppinglist, the sections of the products indicated in the electronic shoppinglist, or the locations of the products indicated in the electronicshopping list. In response to receive user input via the list inputobject 16B the mobile computing device may determine a store at whichthe user intends to purchase the products indicated in the electronicshopping list and can send an indicator of the store and the electronicshopping list to the shopping list server 30. In some embodiments, theshopping list server 30 returns an ordered electronic shopping list thatis ordered according to the types, sections, and/or locations of theproducts. The mobile computing device 10 displays the ordered electronicshopping list in the GUI 12 that will be discussed in further detailbelow. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the shopping list server 30returns product waypoints corresponding to the items in the orderedelectronic shopping list, such that the mobile computing device 10displays the product waypoints in relation to their respective items.

The route input object 16C, when pressed by the user, initiates aninstruction to the mobile computing device 10 to obtain an optimizedroute for the user to travel when shopping for the items in theelectronic shopping list. In response to receiving input via the routeinput object 16C, the mobile computing device 10 can determine a storeat which the user intends to purchase the items and can send anindicator of the store and the electronic shopping list to the shoppinglist server 30. The shopping list server 30 can return a map of thestore, waypoints corresponding to the items in the electronic shoppinglist, and a route to recommend to the user. The mobile computing device10 can display the map to the user, such that the waypoints and/or theroute are displayed in the map.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a schematic illustrating example components ofthe mobile computing device of FIG. 1 is illustrated. In theillustrative embodiment, the mobile computing device includes aprocessing device 100, a user interface 102, a communication device 104,a memory device 106, a global positioning system (GPS) 107, and a camera108. It is noted that the mobile computing device 10 can include othercomponents and some of the components are not required.

The processing device 100 can include memory, e.g., read only memory(ROM) and random access memory (RAM), storing processor-executableinstructions and one or more processors that execute theprocessor-executable instructions. In embodiments where the processingdevice 100 includes two or more processors, the processors can operatein a parallel or distributed manner. The processing device 100 canexecute the operating system of the mobile computing device 10. In theillustrative embodiment, the processing device 100 also executes ashopping list generation module 110 and a shopping assistance module112, which are described in greater detail below.

The user interface 102 is a device that allows a user to interact withthe mobile computing device 10. While one user interface 102 is shown,the term “user interface” can include, but is not limited to, a touchscreen, a physical keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and/or a speaker.The communication device 104 is a device that allows the mobilecomputing device 10 to communicate with another device, e.g., theshopping list server 30, via the network 20. The communication device104 can include one or more wireless transceivers for performingwireless communication and/or one or more communication ports forperforming wired communication. The memory device 106 is a device thatstores data generated or received by the mobile computing device 10. Thememory device 106 can include, but is not limited to, a hard disc drive,an optical disc drive, and/or a flash memory drive.

The GPS 107 determines a location of the mobile computing device 10 bycommunicating with a plurality of GPS satellites. The GPS 107 canperform known triangulation techniques to determine the GPS coordinatesof the mobile computing device 10. It should be appreciated that while aGPS 107 is shown, any other suitable component for determining thelocation of the mobile computing device 10 can be implemented.

The camera 108 is a digital camera that captures a digital photograph.The camera 108 receives an instruction to capture an image, captures animage of an object, i.e., a handwritten shopping list, and outputs thedigital photograph. The digital photograph can be a bitmap file. Thebitmap file can be a bitmap, a JPEG, a GIF, or any other suitablyformatted file. The camera 108 can receive the instruction to capturethe image from the processing device 100 and can output the digitalphotograph to the processing device 100.

The shopping list generation module 110 allows a user to generate anelectronic shopping list and displays the electronic shopping list tothe user in the GUI 12 (FIG. 1) via the user interface 102. As discussedpreviously the shopping list generation module 110 may be configured togenerate the electronic shopping list based on items manually entered bythe user, a photograph of a handwritten shopping list, previouselectronic shopping lists of the user and/or a purchase history of theuser. It is appreciated that the shopping list generation module 110 cangenerate the electronic shopping list in any other suitable manner.

The shopping assistance module 112 assists the user when preparing toshop for the items in the electronic shopping list. The shoppingassistance module 112 can be configured to determine a store locationindicating the store at which the user intends to purchase the productsindicated in the electronic shopping list. The store location can berepresented in GPS coordinates of the store or by a store identifier,e.g., an alphanumeric string that identifies the store from otherstores. In some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 uses thecurrent location of the mobile computing device 10 to determine thestore location. For instance, if a retailer operates three differentstores in the vicinity of the mobile computing device 10, the shoppingassistance module 112 can select the nearest store as the storelocation. The store locations can be obtained from a remote server,e.g., the shopping list server 30, and/or can be stored on the memorydevice 106 of the mobile computing device 10. In some embodiments, theshopping assistance module 112 allows the user to select the storelocation from a plurality of different store locations. For example, theshopping assistance module 112 can display a drop down menu in the GUI12 that allows the user to select the store location. In theseembodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 may instruct the user toprovide a postal zip code and/or a city and state of the user. Usingthis information, the shopping assistance module 112 can display the Nnearest store locations, where N is an integer greater than or equal toone. Alternatively, the shopping assistance module 112 can learn theuser's preferred store location or can store the user's preferred storelocation. It should be appreciated that the shopping assistance module112 may determine the store location in any other suitable manner.

In some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 determines theproduct waypoints for the items in the electronic shopping list. In someof these embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 provides theelectronic shopping list, or the items contained therein, and the storelocation to the shopping list server 30. The shopping list server 30 canreturn the product waypoints corresponding to the items contained in theelectronic shopping list to the shopping assistance module 112. Theshopping assistance module 112 can display the product waypoints to theuser. In this way, the user may view the product waypoints when shoppingto more efficiently locate the products indicated in the electronicshopping list when shopping.

In some embodiments, each product waypoint may be displayed in theelectronic shopping list relative to its corresponding item. Forexample, FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an electronic shopping listthat has product waypoints displayed in relation to their correspondingitems. In the illustrated example, the electronic shopping list isdisplayed on the left-hand side of the GUI 12. On the right-hand side,the product waypoints corresponding to each item are illustrated. As canbe appreciated, the product waypoints can identify a specific aisle ifthe product indicated by the item is in an aisle. Otherwise, adescription of the section of the product, e.g., “Produce” or“Sunglasses,” can be used to show the location of the product. It isnoted that the example of FIG. 3 is provided for example only and notintended to be limiting.

In some embodiments, the shopping list server 30 may also return a mapcorresponding to the store location. As used herein, the term “map” mayrefer to a digital representation of the layout of the correspondingstore location. Referring to FIG. 4, an example of a map 150 having aplurality of product waypoints displayed therein is illustrated. Theshopping assistance module 112 can display the map 150 to the user viathe user interface 102 (FIG. 2). In the illustrated example, the productwaypoints are displayed as graphical icons, e.g., stars. For example,the map 150 includes a first product waypoint 152 (e.g., location of“milk”) and a second product waypoint 154 (e.g., location of “cheese”)in the dairy section. Additionally, the map 150 includes a third productwaypoint 156 (e.g., location of “lettuce”) in the produce section, afourth product waypoint 158 (e.g., location of “curtains”) in the homedecor department, a fifth product waypoint 160 (e.g., location of“sunglasses”) in the kids clothing department, and a sixth productwaypoint 162 (e.g., location of “HALLMARK® card”) in thecards/stationary department. Furthermore, the map 150 includes a seventhwaypoint 164 (e.g., location of “ice cream”) in the frozen goodssection. As can be appreciated, the graphical icon used to represent theseventh waypoint 164 is a pair of bold lines, thereby indicating thatthe both sides of aisle 14 contain ice cream.

In some embodiments, the graphical icons representing the productwaypoints can be displayed in the map 150 in varying sizes to indicateto the user the relative amount of space that is occupied by the productindicated in the electronic shopping list. For example, the productreferenced by the first product waypoint 152 may represent the locationof “cheese” while the product referenced by the second product waypoint154 represent the location of “milk.” As can be appreciated by therespective sizes of the first product waypoint 152 and the secondproduct waypoint 154 in this example, the amount of space occupied bymilk is greater than the amount of space occupied by cheese.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, the map may also display an entrancewaypoint 168 and/or a checkout waypoint 166. The entrance waypoint 168may indicate a suggested entrance for the user to enter/exit from. Thecheckout waypoint 166 may indicate one or more suggested checkout lanesat which the user can checkout. As will be discussed in greater detailbelow, the entrance waypoint 168 and the checkout waypoint 166 can bedetermined based on the items in the electronic shopping list.

It is noted that in some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112can be configured to receive the map 150 and the various waypoints152-168, and to render the map 150 with the waypoints 152-168 displayedtherein. In other embodiments, the shopping list server 30 may beconfigured to render the various waypoints 152-168 in the map 150 and toprovide the rendered map 150 to the shopping assistance module 112.

In some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 can utilize thecurrent location of the user to display the current location of the userin the map 150 while the user is shopping. In this way, the user canreference his or her location in relation to the various waypoints152-168 to better navigate through the store. It is noted that theexample map 150 of FIG. 4 is provided for example and not intended to belimiting.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in some embodiments the shopping assistancemodule 112 is configured to determine an optimized route for the shopperto travel when shopping for the products indicated in the electronicshopping list. In some of these embodiments, the shopping assistancemodule 112 provides the electronic shopping list, or the items containedtherein, and the store location to the shopping list server 30. Theshopping list server 30 can return a route corresponding to the itemscontained in the electronic shopping list to the shopping assistancemodule 112. In some embodiments, the route can be optimized, forexample, to minimize a distance traveled through the store or tominimize an amount of time spent traveling through the store. Theshopping list server 30 may further return the product waypointscorresponding to the items contained in the electronic shopping list.

In some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 can display theroute to the user in a map. FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a map 150having a route 170 displayed therein. The example map 150 of FIG. 5builds upon the example map 150 of FIG. 4. Accordingly, objectsappearing in FIG. 5, which were discussed in FIG. 4 are referenced usingthe same reference numerals. In the illustrated example, the route 170begins at the entrance waypoint 168 and travels through the firstwaypoint 152, the second waypoint 154, the third waypoint 156, thefourth waypoint 158, the seventh waypoint 165, the fifth waypoint 160,the sixth waypoint 162, and the cashier waypoint 166.

It is noted that in some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112can be configured to receive the map 150, the various waypoints 152-168,and the route 170 and to render the route 170 and the waypoints 152-168.In other embodiments, the shopping list server 30 may be configured torender the route 170 and the various waypoints 152-168 in the map 150and to provide the rendered map 150 to the shopping assistance module112. In some embodiments, the shopping assistance module 112 can utilizethe current location of the user to display the current location of theuser in the map 150 while the user is shopping. In this way, the usercan reference his or her location in relation to the route 170 to betternavigate through the store. It is noted that the example map 150 of FIG.5 is provided for example and not intended to be limiting.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in some embodiments the shopping assistancemodule 112 is configured to rearrange and/or group the items in theelectronic shopping list, such that the items are rearranged or groupedin a manner to increase the efficiency of the user's shoppingexperience. For example, in some embodiments the items can be rearrangedaccording to the respective locations of the products indicated by theitems. In these embodiments, the items can be rearranged such that theitems are displayed in an order that corresponds to the respectivedistance between other items. For example, in the electronic shoppinglist of FIG. 1, “curtains” are listed after “HALLMARK® card”. Assumingthat curtains are in the home decor department and HALLMARK® cards arelocated in the stationary department, the items may be rearranged in theelectronic shopping list such that the “HALLMARK® card” is displayeddirectly before or after sunglasses, while “curtains” is displayed afterlettuce and before ice cream.

In other embodiments, the items can be grouped according to the types ofthe products indicated in the electronic shopping list and/or therespective sections/departments of the products indicated in theelectronic shopping list. Referring to FIG. 6, an example of an orderedelectronic shopping list is illustrated. In the example, the electronicshopping list of FIG. 1 has been rearranged and grouped according toproduct type. For example, the ordered electronic shopping list includesa “groceries” grouping 180, a home decor grouping 182, and a personalitems grouping 184. Furthermore, within the groupings, the orderedelectronic shopping list may be grouped according to section/department.For example, the “cheese” item 188 and the “milk” item 190 have beengrouped in a “dairy” grouping 186. As can be appreciated, the “dairy”grouping 186 is indicative of the section of the store where cheese andmilk can be found. The example of FIG. 6 is provided for illustrativepurposes and not intended to be limiting. The items appearing in theordered shopping list can be grouped according to any other suitablecategories.

As referenced above, the shopping list server 30 may be configured toperform one or more functions at the request of the mobile computingdevice 10. FIG. 7 illustrates an example embodiment of the shopping listserver 30 configured to perform one or more of the requested functions.In the illustrated embodiment, the shopping list server 30 may include aprocessing device 300, a communication device 304, and memory device306.

The processing device 300 can include memory, e.g., read only memory(ROM) and random access memory (RAM), storing processor-executableinstructions and one or more processors that execute theprocessor-executable instructions. In embodiments where the processingdevice 300 includes two or more processors, the processors can operatein a parallel or distributed manner. In the illustrative embodiment, theprocessing device 300 executes one or more of a store locator module310, a product locator module 312, a route determination module 314, anda grouping module 316.

The communication device 304 is a device that allows the shopping listserver 30 to communicate with another device, e.g., the mobile computingdevice 10, via the network 20. The communication device 304 can includeone or more wireless transceivers for performing wireless communicationand/or one or more communication ports for performing wiredcommunication.

The memory device 306 is a device that stores data generated or receivedby the shopping list server 30. The memory device 306 can include, butis not limited to a hard disc drive, an optical disc drive, and/or aflash memory drive. Further, the memory device 306 may be distributedand located at multiple locations. The memory device 306 is accessibleto the processing device 300. In some embodiments, the memory device 306stores a store location database 320 and a product location database322.

In some embodiments, the store location database 320 can store the storelocations of one or more stores operated or associated with a retailer.The store location database 320 may be queried using a specificlocation, e.g., GPS coordinates, or a general location, e.g., postal zipcode or city/state, and can return one or more stores that are proximateto the specific or general location. The store location database 320 mayfurther be configured to store maps corresponding to each storelocation. The store location database 320 may be queried with a storelocation and can return the store map corresponding to the storelocation.

In some embodiments, the product location database 322 stores productwaypoints indicating locations of the products sold by a retailer in theone or more stores operated or associated with the retailer. Forexample, the product location database 322 may store the location of“milk” in each of the stores operated or associated with the retailer.The product location database 322 may be queried with the item “milk”and a specific store location, and may return a waypoint indicating thelocation of “milk” at the specific store location.

The product location database 322 may be configured to store waypointsfor specific products and generic products. For example, the productlocation database 322 may be configured to store waypoints indicatingthe location of “ice cream,” a generic product, and the location of “BENAND JERRY'S® ice cream,” a specific product. It should be noted that awaypoint corresponding to a generic product or specific product may berepresented using a starting location and ending location. For example,a waypoint corresponding to “ice cream” may indicate where the ice creamsection begins and where the “ice cream” section ends. Similarly, awaypoint corresponding to “BEN AND JERRY'S® ice cream” may indicatewhere the BEN AND JERRY'S® ice cream begins and ends. It should beappreciated that when a specific product is a species of a genericproduct, e.g., BEN AND JERRY'S® ice cream is a species of “ice cream,”the waypoint corresponding to a specific product may be wholly containedwithin the waypoint corresponding to the generic product. In someembodiments, a generic product may be located in more than one locationin the store. For example, milk may be located in the dairy section,while organic milk may be located in the natural foods location. In thistype of scenario, the product location database 322 may store more thanone location for milk. When such a situation arises, the product locatormodule 312 may retrieve multiple product waypoints, such that themultiple waypoints corresponding to the generic product are provided tothe mobile computing device 10.

The product location database 322 may further store a type of eachproduct sold by the retailer, e.g., groceries, home decor, and personalgoods, and/or a section of the product, e.g., dairy or men's clothing.Furthermore, the types and/or sections can be stored relative to eachstore location. In this way, the product location database 322 can bequeried with a store location and a product and can return a type of theproduct and/or a section of the product at the store location.

As discussed, the processing device 300 may execute the store locatormodule 310. The store locator module 310 receives a location from themobile computing device 10 and determines one or more store locationscorresponding to the received location. In some embodiments, the storelocator module 310 queries the store location database 320 with thereceived location and receives one or more store locations thatcorrespond to the received location. For example, the store locationdatabase 320 may return any store locations that are within apredetermined distance, e.g., 10 miles, from the received location. Whenmore than one store location is received, the store locator module 310may automatically select the store location nearest to the receivedlocation or may provide the store locations to the mobile computingdevice 10, thereby allowing the mobile computing device 10 or the userto select the store location.

The product locator module 312 receives an electronic shopping listcontaining one or more items and determines product waypointscorresponding to the one or more items. In some embodiments, the productlocator module 312, for each item in the electronic shopping list,queries the product location database 322 with the item and a storelocation (which may have been determined by the store locator module310) and receives a product waypoint indicating a location of theproduct indicated by the item in the store corresponding to the storelocation. Furthermore, the product locator module 312 can be configuredto determine an entrance waypoint and/or a checkout waypoint based onthe items contained in the electronic shopping list.

Once the product locator module 312 has determined the variouswaypoints, e.g., product waypoints, checkout waypoint, and entrancewaypoint, the product locator module 312 may provide the productwaypoints to the mobile computing device 10, such that the mobilecomputing device 10 can display the product waypoints in the electronicshopping list.

In some embodiments, the product locator module 312 may be furtherconfigured to obtain a map corresponding to the store location. Theproduct locator module 312 can obtain the map from the store locationdatabase 320. In some of these embodiments, the product locator module312 can provide the map and the product waypoints to the mobilecomputing device 10. Alternatively, the product locator module 312 canrender the map with the various waypoints displayed therein. In theseembodiments, the product locator module 312 may use the locationsindicated by the various waypoints to determine locations in the mapwhere the graphical icons should be displayed. The product locatormodule 312 can then insert the graphical icons at the determinedlocations. The product locator module 312 can provide the rendered imageto the mobile computing device 10.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an example method 400 for determining a set ofwaypoints corresponding to an electronic shopping list is illustrated.In the illustrated example, the method 400 is executed by the processingdevice 300 of the shopping list server 30. It is noted that the method400 may be modified such that the method 400 can be executed by theprocessing device 100 of the mobile computing device 10.

At operation 410, the product locator module 312 receives the electronicshopping list (or the items contained therein) from the mobile computingdevice 10. At operation 412, the product locator module 312 determines astore location. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 10 mayprovide the store location. In other embodiments, the mobile computingdevice 10 may provide its current location, and the product locatormodule 312 may obtain the store location from the store locator module310.

At operation 414, the product locator module 312 determines one or moreproduct waypoints respectively corresponding to the one or more itemscontained in the electronic shopping list. For each item, the productlocator module 312 can query the product locations database 322 with theitem and the store location. As discussed, the product locationsdatabase 322 returns a product waypoint indicating the location of theproduct indicated by the item in the store corresponding to the storelocation.

At operation 416, the product locator module 312 determines a checkoutwaypoint and an entrance waypoint. In some embodiments, the productlocator module 312 can determine the checkout waypoint based on thenumber of items in the electronic shopping list and/or the determinedproduct waypoints. For example, in some embodiments the product locatormodule 312 sets the checkout waypoint equal to the locations of the“express checkout” aisles when the number of items in the electronicshopping list is less than a predetermined threshold, e.g., 15 items.Otherwise, the product locator module 312 can set the checkout waypointequal to the location of the aisles closest to the last item on theelectronic shopping list. In some embodiments, the product locatormodule 312 can determine the entrance waypoint based on the determinedcheckout waypoint, e.g., the entrance nearest to the checkout waypoint.Alternatively, the entrance waypoint can be determined based on theproduct waypoints. For instance, if all of the products (or a majorityof products) are located on the west side of the store, the entrancewaypoint may be set equal to the location of the west side of the store.

At operation 418, the product locator module 312 provides the variouswaypoints for display at the mobile computing device 10. As discussedabove, the product locator module 312 can provide the various waypointsto the mobile computing device 10. In some embodiments, the productlocator module 312 can also provide a map corresponding to the storelocation to the mobile computing device 10, such that the mobilecomputing device 10 can render the map with the various waypointsdisplayed therein. In other embodiments, the store locator module 312can render an image of the map with the various waypoints displayedtherein, whereby the image is provided to the mobile computing device10.

The method 400 of FIG. 8 is provided for example and not intended to belimiting. It should be appreciated that the method 400 may includeadditional operations and some operations may be varied withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. As previously stated, themethod 400 can be modified such that it may be executed by theprocessing device 100 of the mobile computing device 10. For example,the method 400 may be executed by the shopping assistance module 122.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the route determination module 314 determinesa route to recommend to a user when shopping for the products indicatedin the electronic shopping list. The route determination module 314receives the electronic shopping list, or the items contained therein,and determines a route based on the items contained in the electronicshopping list. In some embodiments, the route determination module 314is configured to optimize the route to minimize the amount of distancetraveled and/or the amount of time spent traveling through the store.

In operation, the route determination module 314 can determine a storelocation of the user. Based on the store location, the routedetermination module 314 can obtain a map corresponding to the storelocation. The route determination module 314 can determine the productwaypoints corresponding to the products indicated by the items in theelectronic shopping list based on the items and the store location.

After the various waypoints have been determined, the routedetermination module 314 can determine the route based on the waypoints.Once the optimized route is determined, the route determination module314 can provide the map, the various waypoints, and the route to themobile computing device 10. As discussed with respect to the productlocator module 312, the route determination module 314 can render andprovide an image of the map with the various waypoints and the routedisplayed therein, or can provide the map, the product waypoints, andthe route individually to the mobile computing device 10.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an example method 430 for determining a routeto recommend to a user is illustrated. In the illustrated example, themethod 430 is executed by the processing device 300 of the shopping listserver 30. It is noted that while the method 430 is explained withrespect to the shopping list server 30, the method 430 can be modifiedsuch that the method 430 is executed wholly or in part by the processingdevice 100 of the mobile computing device 10.

At operation 440, the route determination module 314 receives theelectronic shopping list, or the items contained therein, from themobile computing device 10. At operation 442, the route determinationmodule 316 determines a store location indicating a store location wherethe products indicated in the electronic shopping list are to bepurchased. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device 10 providesthe store location. In other embodiments, the mobile computing device 10provides its current location or a city/state selection. In theseembodiments, the route determination module 316 can request a storelocation from the store locator module 310 or can obtain the storelocation from the store location database 320. At operation 444, theroute determination module 316 can obtain a map corresponding to thestore location. The route determination module 316 can obtain the mapfrom the store location database 320.

At operation 446, the route determination module 316 can determine aproduct waypoint for each item contained in the electronic shoppinglist. It is noted that the route determination module 314 can obtain theproduct waypoints from the product location database 322 or can requestthe product waypoints from the product locator module 312, which candetermine the product waypoints in the manner discussed above.

At operation 448, the route determination module 314 can determine anentrance waypoint and a checkout waypoint based on the productwaypoints. It is noted that the route determination module 314 canobtain the entrance waypoint and the checkout waypoint by requesting theentrance waypoint and checkout waypoint from the product locator module312. Alternatively, the route determination module 314 can determine theentrance waypoint and the checkout waypoint in the manner describedabove.

At operation 450, the route determination module 316 can determine theroute based on the determined waypoints. The route determination module314 can determine the route in any suitable manner. For instance, theroute determination module 314 can determine a route starting point,e.g., the entrance waypoint, and a route ending point, e.g., thecheckout waypoint, and can then determine a route that travels throughthe remaining product waypoints. In some embodiments, the routedetermination module 314 determines one or more paths between each pairof waypoints and can assign a weight for each path. The weight of a pathcan indicate a distance between the two waypoints or an amount of timeto travel from a first waypoint to a second waypoint. If more than onepath exists between a pair of waypoints, the path having the least valueis set as the path between the two waypoints. Once the paths betweeneach pair of waypoints are determined, the route determination module314 can determine an optimized route based on the determined paths andthe weights thereof. For example, the route determination module 314 canimplement Dijkstra's algorithm to determine the route that optimizedwith respect to the distance traveled through the store or the timespent traveling through the store.

At operation 452, the route determination module 314 can provide themap, the various waypoints, and the route to the mobile computing device10. As discussed, the route determination module 314 can provide themap, the various waypoints, and the route individually. Alternatively,the route determination module 314 can render an image containing themap, the various waypoint, and the route and can provide the image tothe mobile computing device 10.

The method 430 of FIG. 9 is provided for example and not intended to belimiting. It should be appreciated that the method 430 may includeadditional operations and some operations may be varied withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the routedetermination module 314 may be configured to receive a location of theuser while the user is shopping in the store, such that if the userdeparts from the recommended route, the route determination module 314can update the route based on the current location of the mobilecomputing device 10 and the items that have yet to be checked off theelectronic shopping list. Additionally or alternatively, the routedetermination module 314 may determine multiple routes to recommend tothe user based on the items contained in the electronic shopping list.Furthermore, as previously stated, the method 430 can be modified suchthat it may be executed by the processing device 100 of the mobilecomputing device 10. For example, the method 430 may be executed by theshopping assistance module 122.

Referring back to FIG. 7, the grouping module 316 rearranges and groupsthe items in the electronic shopping list such that the items aregrouped according to the type of the products indicated by the items. Insome embodiments, the grouping module 316 receives the electronicshopping list, or the items contained therein. For each item, thegrouping module 316 determines a type of the item. In some embodiments,the term “type” refers to a high-level genus of the product indicated bythe item. Examples of types of items include grocery items, clothingitems, accessory items, personal items, and hardware items. Each itemmay then be assigned to a grouping based on its type. It is noted thatthe groupings represent the different types, e.g., a grocery grouping,clothing grouping, and hardware grouping. Once the items have beenassigned to the groupings grouped, the groupings can be provided to themobile computing device 10. In this way, the electronic shopping listhas been ordered based on groupings.

In some embodiments, the grouping module 316 can be further beconfigured to determine a section of each item. As discussed above, asection of the item can indicate the area of the store where the item isstocked, e.g., dairy section, frozen goods section. In theseembodiments, the grouping module 316 can, for each of the groupings,assign the items in the grouping to their respective section such thatitems that are found in the same section are grouped in the samesection. Once the items have been assigned to their respective sections,the groupings and sections can be provided to the mobile computingdevice 10. In this way, the electronic shopping list has been orderedbased on groupings and sections.

In some embodiments, the grouping module 316 can be configured toreorder the electronic shopping list based on the locations of theproducts indicated in the electronic shopping list. In theseembodiments, the grouping module 316 can request that an optimized routefrom the route determination module 314. The grouping module 314 canthen reorder the items in the electronic shopping list to match theorder of the waypoints in the optimized route.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an example method 470 for grouping andreordering an electronic shopping list is illustrated. In theillustrated example, the method 430 is executed by the processing device300 of the shopping list server 30. It is noted that while the method430 is explained with respect to the shopping list server 30, the method430 can be modified such that the method 470 is executed wholly or inpart by the processing device 100 of the mobile computing device 10.

At operation 480, the grouping module 316 receives the electronicshopping list from the mobile computing device 10. At operation 482, thegrouping module 316 determines a store location indicating a store wherethe products indicated in the electronic shopping list are to bepurchased. At operation 484, the grouping module 316 determines a typeand section for each item. In some embodiments, the grouping module 316determines the type and section of an item by querying the productlocation database 322 with the store location and the item.

At operation 486, the grouping module 316 assigns each item to agrouping based on its type. For example, grocery items are assigned to agrocery grouping and hardware grouping are assigned to a hardwaregrouping. Furthermore, within each grouping, the items may be assignedto a section based on a section of the item.

At operation 488, the items in the electronic shopping list are arrangedbased on the groupings and the sections to obtain an ordered electronicshopping list. In some embodiments, the items are arranged such thatitems appearing in the same section are listed with one another, andsections belonging to the same grouping are listed with one another. Inthis way, the ordered electronic shopping list has been orderedaccording to grouping and within each grouping according to section. Atoperation 490, the ordered electronic shopping list is provided to themobile computing device 10.

The method 470 of FIG. 10 is provided for example and not intended to belimiting. It should be appreciated that the method 470 may includeadditional operations and some operations may be varied withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. As previously stated, themethod 470 can be modified such that it may be executed by theprocessing device 100 of the mobile computing device 10. For example,the method 470 may be executed by the shopping assistance module 11.

The above description of illustrated examples of the present invention,including what is described in the Abstract, are not intended to beexhaustive or to be limitation to the precise forms disclosed. Whilespecific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are describedherein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications arepossible without departing from the broader spirit and scope of thepresent invention. Indeed, it is appreciated that the specific examplevoltages, currents, frequencies, power range values, times, etc., areprovided for explanation purposes and that other values may also beemployed in other embodiments and examples in accordance with theteachings of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, by a computer system, an electronic shopping list containingone or more items, each item indicating a product sold by a retailer;determining, by the computer system, a store location of the retailer,the store location indicating a store where one or more productsindicated by the one or more items are to be purchased; determining, bythe computer system, one or more product waypoints based on the one ormore items in the electronic shopping list and a store map, each productwaypoint of the one or more product waypoints respectively correspondingto one of the one or more items and being indicative of a productlocation of the product indicated by the item in the store; determining,by the computer system, a checkout waypoint based on the number of itemslisted on the electronic shopping list, the checkout waypointcorresponding to a checkout lane; and providing, by the computer system,the store map, the one or more product waypoints, and the checkoutwaypoint for display, each waypoint of the one or more product waypointsbeing represented on the store map by an icon of the same shape andsized according to an amount of space that a corresponding product ofthe one or more products occupies in the store.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more productwaypoints are obtained from a product locations database, the productlocations database storing a plurality of waypoints corresponding to thestore, including the one or more product waypoints, each waypoint of theplurality of waypoints indicating a specific product location of aspecific product in the store.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the oneor more product waypoints are inserted in the electronic shopping list,wherein each of the one or more product waypoints is inserted relativeto its corresponding item.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, by the computer system, an entrance waypoint indicating anentrance location of the store based on the one or more productwaypoints; and wherein the entrance waypoint is provided for display. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the method is executed by the processingdevice of a mobile computing device.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe method is executed by the processing device of a server, wherein theelectronic shopping list is received from a mobile computing device. 7.A server comprising: at least one processor; memory operably connectedto the at least one processor; and the memory storing: a store locatormodule that determines a store location of a retailer, the storelocation indicating a store where one or more products indicated by oneor more items are to be purchased; and a product locator moduleconfigured to: receive an electronic shopping list containing the one ormore items from a mobile computing device, each item indicating aproduct sold by a retailer; determine one or more product waypointsbased on the one or more items in the electronic shopping list, eachproduct waypoint of the one or more product waypoints respectivelycorresponding to one of the one or more items and being indicative of aproduct location of the product indicated by the item in the store;determine a checkout waypoint based on the number of items listed on theelectronic shopping list, the checkout waypoint corresponding to acheckout lane in the store; and provide the one or more productwaypoints and the checkout waypoint to the mobile computing device fordisplay, each waypoint of the one or more product waypoints beingrepresented by an icon of the same shape and sized according to anamount of space that a corresponding product of the one or more productsoccupies in the store.
 8. The server of claim 7, further comprising: aproduct locations database that stores a plurality of waypointscorresponding to the store, including the one or more product waypoints,wherein the product locator module is further configured to obtain theone or more product waypoints from the product locations database. 9.The server of claim 7, wherein: the store locator module is furtherconfigured to obtain a store map corresponding to the store location,and the product locator module is further configured to insert the iconof each waypoint of the one or more product waypoints into the storemap.
 10. The server of claim 7, wherein the one or more productwaypoints are inserted in the electronic shopping list, each of the oneor more product waypoints being inserted relative to its correspondingitem.
 11. The server of claim 7, wherein the product locator module isfurther configured to determine an entrance waypoint indicating anentrance location of the store based on the one or more productwaypoints.